Official Mobile Game of the Rounders Movie Coming This Summer

Mobile games developer Nazara Technologies and Exit Games announced that they are working on a mobile game inspired by the classic film Rounders. As in the original movie, the mobile adaptation called Rounders Poker, allows players to infiltrate the underground world of high-stakes poker from their mobile device.

Released in 1998, the movie follows the story of two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash by playing poker to pay off a huge debt. The term 'rounder' refers to a person who relies only on playing cards to earn his living. The film is directed by John Dahl and features Matt Damon and Edward Norton in the leading roles.

Rounders Poker attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the classic movie, taking the players to various locations from the movie itself. Described by its makers as a 'quest-based' poker game, Rounders Poker combines first person poker action, with the plot and memorable characters from the film. The game will allow players to test their skills with three different modes of gameplay and, as a first, it will feature cheating elements like bottom dealing and signaling used in real poker.

Powered by Exit Games' Neutron 4.0 platform, Nazara's Rounders Poker will also include a multiplayer component, enabling up to seven players to compete against each other. The game will incorporate features like management of buddy lists, in-game chat capabilities and the ability to send game invitations to other friends. Also, a unique avatar creation system will allow players to customize their appearance.

"Rounders Poker encompasses all the great aspects of a real-life poker competition in the spirit of the much-heralded Rounders film," said Tom Sperry, CEO of Exit Games USA. "We are proud that Neutron was selected to facilitate the multiplayer and community aspects of the game and we feel confident that Rounders Poker will have widespread appeal to fans of the film, as well as among the most discerning poker enthusiasts."

Rounders Poker will be released initially on Brew handsets in the summer of 2007, followed by a J2ME variant this fall.